Media Releases

LABOR TO IMPROVE NBN RELIABILITY AND SPEEDS IN DOBELL

April 16, 2019

A Shorten Labor Government will implement a plan to deliver a better experience for NBN consumers, by improving reliability and speeds for up to 8,500 Fibre to the Node households in Dobell.

Areas that will benefit from this initiative include Wyong, Toukley, Noraville and Gorokan.

Under our plan, NBNCo will work with service providers to improve in-home cabling problems to lift speeds and reliability, at no cost to the end user.

In-home wiring, which runs between telephone sockets in the home, can cause interference to the signal that reaches the modem. In Fibre to the Node households, this reduces NBN signal quality, which in turn causes dropouts and poorer speed performance.

The issue is estimated to impact up to one in five households on the copper-based Fibre to the Node network.

NBNCo have completed trials which found addressing problematic cabling improved service stability, reduced dropouts, and increased attainable speeds by an average of 11 megabits per second.

It currently costs $150 for households to have this problem fixed.

Under Labor’s plan, if a household is identified as being affected, a technician will be offered to fix the issue at no cost.

The record of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government speaks for itself: Australia is ranked 59th in the world for broadband speeds and their delivery of the NBN is $21.4 billion over budget and four years behind schedule.

In contrast, Labor has a plan to improve the experience of consumers, and we have a responsible longer-term strategy to deliver more fibre through co-investment.

Australian households and businesses deserve a National Broadband Network that is affordable, delivers great value for money and is reliable.

This initiative is part of our commitment to delivering a better NBN experience for consumers.

We will pay for it by making multinationals pay their fair share and closing tax loopholes used by the top end of town.

This election is a choice between Labor’s plan for better hospitals and better schools, or bigger tax loopholes for the top end of town under the Liberals.